Army private who fled to North Korea is in talks to resolve military charges, lawyer says

WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawyer for an Army private who fled to North Korea and was later charged with desertion and possessing sexual images of a child said Wednesday that he was in negotiations with military prosecutors to resolve the case against his client.

Army Pvt. Travis King had been scheduled for a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Fort Bliss, Texas. But the hearing was canceled to give the two sides room to negotiate a resolution, King’s attorney, Franklin D. Rosenblatt, told The Associated Press.

He declined to discuss the details of the discussions or what any deal might entail, but said a request had been made to postpone the hearing by two weeks and that the negotiations could result in no preliminary hearing being necessary.

King in July 2023 ran across the heavily fortified border from South Korea and became the first American detained in North Korea in nearly five years.

Officials said King was taken to the airport and escorted as far as customs. But instead of getting on the plane, he left and later joined a civilian tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom. He ran across the border, which is lined with guards and often crowded with tourists, in the afternoon.

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